Gerald McKinstry was a staff writer for The Journal News in both Westchester and Rockland counties from 2004 to 2012. His last assignment was covering Westchester County government and politics in the region. He also covered many other communities on both sides of the Hudson River. Before that, he was an editor with The Standard Star and Review Press, two weekly newspapers affiliated with The Journal News in southern Westchester. He started that post in 2001. He is also an adjunct professor of journalism at Iona College. McKinstry grew up in a hilly place called Yonkers, "a city," as the saying goes, "where nothing is on the level." He is married and has two children.